Justice and the legal system were difficult and malleable forces during Defoe's lifetime, continually shifting and updating. At the time of the Restoration in 1600 there were 50 capital statutes, which rapidly rose to over 200 by the early 19th century. These shifts of identity in the judicial system are also apparent in the anxieties of the Augustan period in relation to criminals and, in particular, female criminals. The presence of female criminals in contemporary society has been studied by Malcolm Feeley and Deborah Little in their publication The Vanishing Woman (date) which suggests there was a marked decrease of female criminals between 1660 and 1800; in contrast, Peter King suggests that there is no explicit decrease and that Feeley …show more content…
As well as this, the denouement of the novel where Moll becomes a gentlewoman in Virginia provides an irony to Moll's youthful declaration - even if this identity comes into being through her incestuous (if accidental) marriage to her brother. For the majority of the narrative, however, Defoe defines Moll through her lack of identity and the performative aspects that accompany her malleability. During her reunion with Jemy in Newgate, where Moll is allegedly her most reformed and penitent, she still uses her "woman's rhetoric" (251), meaning tears, to entice him to forgive her, using emotions as a deceptive trick rather than an instinctive reaction to the reunion. She refers to herself flippantly as a "complete thief" (page) by way of defining herself, although she does balance the offhand assertion with a confession that she had never expected to indulge in a life of crime to the extent that she has. This self-identity is most damning in the context of the novel as a whole, which was published mimicking contemporary criminal narratives and boldly identifying her as "Twelve Year a Thief" and "a Transported Felon in Virginia" and Defoe further heightens this dominating identification as criminal by portraying Moll as comparing herself to a contemporary thief, …show more content…
The name signals promiscuity and a more general dishonesty, both of which are aspects of Moll's characterisation that shape her identity, or her lack of identity. When recalling the creation of the identity of 'Moll Flanders', she confesses that she could never "learn how they came to give me the name, or what the occasion of it was" (page) as well as emphasising the fact the name had been bestowed upon her by her fellow criminals, thereby highlighting the illicit nature and connotations of the name. Similarly, Defoe chooses to have the name Roxana bestowed upon his protagonist by another person in the central scene of the Turkish dance in Roxana. In Defoe's contemporary society, Roxana (like Moll) was a fairly common name that emphasises the vague foundations of their identities; but whereas Moll prompts associations of sexual promiscuity and falsities, Roxana is said to evoke the image of "harems and exotic, beautiful women." (footnote) Both of these definitions are comparatively othering, and yet suggest ways in which both of Defoe's female protagonists are regarded by
Nowadays there are a lot of people who have special behavior and independent character. Their unusual behavior and dressing often attract others. However, sticking out is not suitable for female in most instances.
Crime punishment in the 17th century in London was not any better than the methods such as the death penalty used in the 16th century. Matter of fact, one could say that the punishments in the 17th century was exactly as it was in the 16th century London. During this time period, people were still being punished for committing small crimes like stealing things. “There was still support for the execution of the most serious offenders, however, and in certain contexts, such as the 1720s and 1780s, which both experienced crime waves and political instability, the proportion of convicts executed increased.” (London Lives 1690 to 1800 crimes, poverty and social policy in the metropolis). Men and women were punished almost in the same way, however, if a pregnant woman is found guilty of any crime, she was given time to deliver the baby before she faced her punishment for her crimes. In the 17th, most the famous crime punishment method was hanging, criminals who were convicted were hanged instead of given other types of punishment.
In my opinion the prologue “The Woman in the Photograph” is a very interesting and informative prologue. It was very eye opening and inspirational. The smallest things in our bodies can be used in many different ways. It shows that one woman immortal cells can make a humongous impact on many of people's lives. I myself do not consider Henrietta’s cells to be immortal I just consider them to be a special type of cells. The reason I consider them special is that, her cells are able to stay alive after decades even though she has been dead for many of years and most human cells die after awhile. Even after being dead for so long Henrietta’s cells are being used in many different ways. Scientist use her cells to make medical advances and save
Middleton and Dekker collaborate to write The Roaring Girl, which concentrates on a real-life London woman named Moll Cutpurse. Moll was reputed to be a prostitute, bawd, and thief, but the playwrights present her as a lady of great spirit and virtue whose reputation is misrepresented by a small, convention-bound civilization. In the play, as in reality, Moll dresses in men’s attire, smokes a pipe and bears a sword representing a colorful and in the underworld life of Moll Cutpurse. She stood London on its head with her cross-dressing and gender-bending behavior, and illegal pursuits. Her defiance of women in this play is exceptional. Also, she is perhaps one of the only players to be scrupulously true to herself; some of the other characters display very hypocritical aspects. Such unorthodox and unconventional role, Middleton and Dekker implies, leads to her spotted standing. She is a roaring girl; An audacious and bold woman-about-town. But beneath this absence of femininity, is a courageous, high-principled woman. Moll interposes in the central plots and is associated in skirmishes with many of the characters, consistently showcasing her ability to stand up for the downtrodden and wronged. Therefore, Moll creates a 'third space ' that identifies her as importantly freed in her navigation of space and social relations.
Since the 19th century, law enforcement and punishment has developed rapidly into the justice system we rely on today. Obscure laws that had become irrelevant in an industrial and post-industrial era were fast being replaced, and despite its lack of existence at the beginning of the 1800’s, policing standards are, today, high. The necessity for this drastic change in approach to crime has stemmed from the needs of industrial Britain, and the increased awareness of the public, and government, and their perception of crime and punishment. Rather than individual cases having a direct impact on these changes, in general they provide an insight as to the reactions of the public at the time, and along with the myriad of other cases, allow us
Amelia Earhart or “The Babe of The Sky” most popular for being the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Setting a record for longest distance without refueling, First women to a fly nonstop transcontinental flight, also achieving many more honors all while also writing two books.While achieving another record; to be the first woman to fly around the world she suddenly disappeared on her voyage so close to the finish line.But what exactly happened to Amelia Earhart? Did she truly meet her doom in the ocean or could other theories surrounding her disappearance possibly be true? Let's look at Amelia Earhart before her disappearance. Born in Atchison, Kansas on July 24, 1897. A spirit of adventure seemed to consume the Earhart children. As a child, Earhart spent most of her time playing with her sister Pidge, climbing trees, sledding, and other outdoor play. Earhart soon Taking a course in Red Cross First Aid, Earhart enlisted as a nurse's aide at Spadina Military Hospital in Toronto, Canada, tending to wounded soldiers during World War I and when the Spanish flu pandemic was spreading. The following year, Amelia enrolled as a premedical student at Columbia University in New York. Shortly thereafter, Earhart soon changed her mind and changed schools, attending Columbia University. Learning to fly in California, she took up aviation as a hobby, taking odd jobs to pay for her flying lessons. In 1922, with the financial
There has been a lack of interest in female convicts as a subject of historical discussion. The history of female convicts has traditionally been incorporated into the framework of male convicts with grave reference to the male convict experience. The convict women who were transported to Australia on ships Elizabeth 5th and Henry Wellesley in 1836 faced extreme difficulty in achieving freedom and reputability. It is the view of many historians that “women were incorporated into a pattern initially designed to accommodate men”. This essay will investigate the origins and characteristics of a sample of 10 female convicts arriving to Sydney in1836. The essay aims to establish an alternative impression of the female convicts that were deemed damned whores, skill-less and prostitutes. In agreement with the 4 of the 5 studied historians, I hold the view that the women were the victims of a “repressive patriarchal society” and the appellation of female convicts as ‘damned whores’ is totally inadequate. I believe they were not members of a professional criminal class; they were humans with basic human needs, doing anything they could to survive.
Once the accused was convicted of his crime, the court moved into the punishment phase. Interestingly enough, the process of deciding punishment was quite a flawed one. The reason for this was that most people's perceptions of criminals in the beginning and mid 1800s was that they were people of the working class who were too lazy to work (Emsley). This led to a bias in which working class people seemed to be receiving harsher punishments than any other class except one (Emsley). Although rare, if a woman was convicted of a crime, they would receive some of the harshest punishments (Victorian Crime) The reason for this was because it was perceived as unladylike as “Not only had they transgressed the law, they transgressed perceptions of womanhood,”
In the Elizabethan era, doing a crime was the worst mistake of all, depending on how big your crime was, people had to know that their lives were at risk. Every crime was big before, even “crimes of treason and offenses against the state were treated with that murder and rape today.”(Elizabethan Crime and Punishment) “Offenses such as manslaughter, robbery, rape, piracy and capital crimes entitled one to hanging, usually in the town square.” (Elizabethan crime and Punishment) During Queen Elizabeth’s time, the punishments were designed to fit the crime committed. A person may complain about the consequences of crimes one commits, but looking back at the Elizabethan times, punishments are far less brutal now than how they were then.
Criminality is still assumed to be a masculine characteristic and women lawbreakers are therefore observed to be either ‘not women’ or ‘not criminals’ (Worrall 1990, p. 31). Female offenders are hallmarked for tireless and inescapable coverage if they fit into the rewarding newsworthy categories of violent or sexual. It is always important to note the reason for overrepresentation of women criminals in the media. “Women who commit serious offences are judged to have transgressed two sets of laws: criminal laws and the laws of nature” (Jewkes 2011, p. 125). Such women are hence “doubly deviant and doubly damned” (Lloyd, 1995). When women commit very serious crimes, such as murder, they attract
According to the author Hughes the New England period was a time that grew slowly in the seventeen centuries. Using the court records of new Haven court, the author views the pattern of change in the women in the colonial age. She says that legal action procedure of women relates to divorce, illicit sex, rape, slander and relate to debt. According to the author the legal system in the seventeen centuries were influence by church and government so it was very strict and harsh. It was unusual for women to make trips to the court or go to the court for illegal act of fornication, as the case of Rebeca Balding of Connecticut court 1619, that came before the bar in confess a sin of fornication. Hughes says that most women came to the court to sue
In "There is No Unmarked Woman," Tannen uses personal experiences and technical evidence to support her claim that women are subject to prejudice in modern American society. Tannen clearly proves that women are judged for their appearance. For example, Tannen uses a short anecdote to show that she is not even immune to this, as she judges only the women at her academic conference for their personal styles. This evidence proves that women are marked because it shows that judgements on women are ingrained in the modern human psyche, even if the individual in question is not supportive of gender inequality. Tannen later asserts that women are marked even in modern society's language, bringing up examples such as "doctorette" and "actress."
With regards to female sentences, it can be seen on the one hand that the criminal justice system deals with female crimes more leniently than with male criminality, as referred to as the chivalry theory (Pollok, 1983). As many female offences are usually petty wrongdoings, such as shoplifting which makes up for nearly a half of all indictable convictions (Ministry of Justice, 2014), due to their gender, it is most likely that females are to be cautioned over receiving a prison sentence. However, this was not the case for Maxine Carr in 2003. A whirlwind of media interest surrounding Carr’s involvement, with the murders of two young girls from Soham, is argued to be the definitive reason as to why Carr received a prison sentence of three years, all for perverting the course of justice.
When Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker wrote their Roaring Girl in 1611, they based it loosely on Mary Frith, who was frequenting taverns and playhouses in men’s clothing in London and had to appear in front of the court. Moll is the name of half the prostitutes in London and in their play; we meet Moll Cutpurse, the Roaring Girl. Dekker and Middleton use the unusual girl to criticize the London society. Moll goes between classes to evaluate the people in London as is shown when she talks to Sir Thomas and Lord Noland, stating
Glaspell develops the theme of gender roles by what Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters fret about at the crime scene. For instance, the first concern that Mrs. Peters voices revolves around Mrs. Wright’s fruit preserves and implies that the women are housekeepers. Both the Sheriff and Mr. Hale remark about how the women are “worryin’ about her preserves” and “worrying over trifles” (Glaspell 3). Later, when the men go upstairs to look for evidence, the women decide to bring Mrs. Wright’s apron, fruit, shawl, and quilt for her in prison. To further establish Mrs. Wright as a domesticated housewife, Mrs. Peters suggests that Mrs. Wright wants her apron “to make her feel more natural” (Glaspell 5). Because of what Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discuss at the crime scene, Glaspell verifies that the women play the role of housekeeper and cook.